SLED investigating video of finger-biting suspect being kicked

Deputy Shawn Ramsey fired after video surfaces

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is now investigating a video which shows a suspect being kicked in the head before his arrest.

News 4 first reported Wednesday that the man seen kicking the suspect was identified by Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper as one of his new deputies.

That deputy, Shawn Ramsey, was terminated after the video came out.

The incident happened after the suspect, Brian Gilbert, bit off the finger of another Anderson County deputy, according to the Sheriff's Office -- and it was all caught on a cellphone camera by a bar patron.

The woman who shot the video told News 4 that she doesn't know the suspect, but saw the man being led out by several people and decided to follow them to make sure he was OK.

The video was shot just moments after police say Gilbert bit off the deputy's finger outside of Johnny Angell's bar in Anderson.

The video shows Gilbert lying on the ground. About 50 seconds into the video, one of the men surrounding him is seen kicking Gilbert in the head.

The woman, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, told News 4 "I was devastated. (Gilbert) was helpless. There was nothing that anybody could do for him."

Skipper told News 4 his internal affairs officer started investigating after the YouTube video was brought to his attention.

"We have conducted our internal investigation, and the investigation revealed that the particular officer that actually kicked the suspect was one of recent graduates from the criminal justice academy, and based on our general orders of conduct unbecoming of an officer, we have terminated that officer," Skipper told News 4.

The witness who shot the video said she wants the deputy to be charged.

"This is police brutality for one. It's gang-banging for two, and it could be lynching, and to keep him and spit on him, that's assault to me, and I think they should be held accountable just like anybody else would be," the woman said.

Gilbert was charged that night with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Officers said he was inappropriately touching several waitresses before the men took Gilbert out of the bar. As Gilbert was being led out, police said Gilbert bit off a portion of Anderson County Sgt. Andrew Hyslop's pinky finger.

The woman who shot the video also alleges a man spit on Gilbert as he was down. The video shows the man leaning over Gilbert, but it's not clear what he's doing.

News 4 has learned that man is also a recent graduate from the criminal justice academy, and is now a Greenville County deputy.

According to a spokesman for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, internal affairs officers reviewed the video, and said there was no evidence their deputy spit on the man. The officers believe their deputy was trying to render aid to Gilbert. That deputy was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Gilbert was in court Thursday morning. A judge denied him bond saying Gilbert is a threat to the community, and a flight risk since he lives in Greenville, but was in Anderson when the incident happened.

In court, Gilbert's attorney, Tom Dunaway, asked the judge to give a reasonable bond to his client. Dunaway said Gilbert was being mistreated before his arrest, and said biting Hyslop's finger was Gilbert's "only defense."

"A chokehold was given to my client. Another alleged officer was kicking him in the face. They had him on the ground with their knee in him. The only defense he had left, as he was passing out due to the chokehold, was the finger. He did bite the tip of the finger off," Dunaway said in court.

Hyslop spoke to the judge as well, and called Dunaway's explanation of what happened that night "the biggest bunch of hogwash" he'd ever heard.

Hyslop said he identified himself as an officer before asking Gilbert to leave the bar. He said Gilbert refused to leave, and Hyslop followed him, and several other bar patrons outside.

Once outside, Hyslop said he saw Gilbert and another patron getting up from the ground.

"Mr. Gilbert looked at me eye-to-eye. He came at me. When he came at me, I got into a stance. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I was going to defend myself. At the last minute, (Gilbert) put his head down and came into me. As I tried to get him off me, is when he bit my finger. That's what happened," Hyslop said in court.

After court, Gilbert's uncle, Bobby Alexander, compared the video of his nephew being arrested to the Rodney King incident.

"I thought about Rodney King. I know how his family felt. The officer stepped across the line, beating up a fellow for nothing," said Bobby Alexander. "That wasn't nothing more than a lynching party. That's what I think about it."

Gilbert's aunt, Joyce Alexander, said she hopes the deputy is charged.

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